COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF CLONDALKIN, NEWCASTLE, RATHCOOLE, SAGGART AND BRITTAS AREA COMMITTEE

Wednesday, June 18, 2025

MOTION NO. 1

MOTION: Councillor W. Carey

That this Area Committee agrees that the proliferation of "Vape Shops", in the centre of our villages and close to schools, is an undesirable development in our communities and therefore calls for the banning of these shops within a distance of 500metres.

REPORT:

Planning application decisions are taken based on the County Development Plan 2022-2028 and any relevant local area plans, no policy is contained within these documents in relation to vape shops.

It is important to note that even if such policy were to be incorporated into the policy framework it would have very limited effect on the ground. This is because shops benefit from significant exemptions under the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 (as amended). This means a wide range of commercial and retail premises in our villages and communities could be changed to vape shops without planning permission. This makes the planning system unsuited to the management of vape shops.

For example, it is possible to change the use of one type of shop to another, without planning permission (Article 10). It is also possible to change use from a wide range of commercial uses (e.g. restaurant, public house, betting office, car showroom, funeral home, arcade) to use as a shop (including vape shop) without planning permission (Article 6, Class 14). In addition, the term shop is widely also defined under the Planning and Development Regulations (2001) as amended and includes such uses as hairdresser, dry-cleaner, post office etc (Article 5).